Just viewed the new U.S. Blu-Ray release of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, presumably a clone of the region-free UK release that was released a few years earlier. (It's been hovering around $8 on Amazon.)

I'm guessing it's an HD transfer that was used for the prior DVD - in general, contrast, black levels, etc. look good, but it falters with grain management. They definitely did a bit of it - it first became noticeable when Jimmy Stewart and Vera Miles arrive at the train station and some of the darker bits of the screen looked a bit clumped together, if that makes sense. It's comparable to what you'd find in the previous U.S. Blu-Ray for The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (the one preceding the 4k restoration), and it's more noticeable in long shots - with close-ups magnifying details in people's faces, you don't have that slight clumping effect around eyes, shadows, etc.

Blu-ray's forums say their rerelease of Saturday Night Fever will be a new transfer, so it seems there's a chance for any of these upcoming releases they might be sourced from a newer restoration if one's been done already

Yes, wasn't there an alternate version at the time that toned down the language (and removed the attempted rape scene) to let Saturday Night Fever and its blockbusting soundtrack reach a wider audience? (In the UK there was both a PG and an 18 version of the film, which was a very rare thing to happen as there was some concern about people being confused at two versions of the same film being available simultaneously) So Paramount has both versions in circulation on Blu-ray now?

andyli wrote:Saturday Night Fever gets a new transfer because it is actually a different cut.

Interesting. Badham is quoted as saying it got a 4k transfer according to someone on the bluray.com forum. I'll consider rebuying. I have an intimate connection to the locations of this film. I grew up and lived in the neighborhoods used in this film. I was in Junior High when they were filming.

Btw... the street with the train overhead is the very same street Friedkin used for the car/train chase in the French Connection. Just a little film trivia.

The new Saturday Night Fever is being billed as a "Director's Cut," so I would say it's most likely not the PG cut (which was also released in the US). I don't think the PG cut has been available since the VHS era.

IIRC Saturday Night Fever was one of those movies that had some deleted scenes added to broadcast on order to fill run time (and make up for a few network trims). So it's likely the R-Rated cut with some of those scenes reintigrated.

colinr0380 wrote:Yes, wasn't there an alternate version at the time that toned down the language (and removed the attempted rape scene) to let Saturday Night Fever and its blockbusting soundtrack reach a wider audience?

Yes there was. That was the first version I saw, at age 10, when it came out. Grease had happened in the meantime - which made kids like me want to see SNF (I already knew the music, not the movie) - so I wonder if that's why they re-released it PG.

Notable because this is the first sign in a while that Paramount might release new-to-BD catalog titles again rather than just reissuing titles released during the WB licensing days. It's a tie-in to the new 2Pac biopic All Eyez on Me, but still.

Wow, the Juice 25th Anniversary Edition looks like it is a pretty packed special edition:

Audio Commentary by director Ernest R. Dickerson

You've Got the Juice Now — A look back at the making of the film featuring brand new interviews with director Ernest R. Dickerson, producer David Heyman and actors Omar Epps, Khalil Kain and Jermaine Hopkins. The piece details Dickerson's struggle to remain true to his original vision, his desire to cast fresh new talent, the challenges of shooting on location in Harlem, and the reasons why the film's ending was changed.

The Wrecking Crew — The film's surviving lead actors talk about how they came to be cast in the film and the bonds they immediately formed with one another. They additionally share stories about Tupac Shakur's drive, authenticity and unmistakable genius, as well as their delight at getting to work with Samuel L. Jackson, Queen Latifah and Cindy Herron.

Sip the Juice: The Music — Explores the essential role that music plays in the film. Features vintage interviews with the Shocklee brothers about their score, as well as Erik B, EPMD, and members of Cypress Hill speaking about their contributions to the unforgettable soundtrack and why they chose to be a part of the film.

Stay in the Scene: The Interview — Vintage interview with the four lead cast members on set. The piece demonstrates their rapport as they discuss the importance of the film and its message.

That looks like a great package, the soundtrack was perhaps the best in an era full of quality soundtracks and you still hear many of these tracks in clubs to this day. Aaron Hall's Dont Be Afraid & Naughty by Nature's Uptown Anthem never gets old. Hard to Believe it's been 25 years.

Talked with a friend who recently booked a screening of Bob Roberts, and apparently Paramount is losing the rights in August. Sounds like someone else has picked it up. Of course, those are theatrical rights, but I wonder if this could bode well for a blu-ray release. The time is certainly ripe for the film's rediscovery.

My friend did mention that the aspect ratio was tricky to pin down for the screening (from 35mm), and he finally settled on using a 1.66:1 aperture plate! It seems an unusual choice, but I thought it looked just fine. It was my first time seeing the film, though, so I haven't got any other ratios to compare it to.

What A Disgrace wrote:Does anybody know if the upcoming Chinatown has the same specs as the old one?

And is it even that big of a jump in quality to be worth trading in the most recent 2-disc DVD edition (with the Fincher commentary etc)? Seriously, I've just heard it's a really mediocre transfer... but is it that disappointing? Or just disappointing because it could/should have been stunning but is simply competent instead? I remember hearing about DNR problems, though, which makes me skeptical about it. Opinions?

As an aside, I was lucky enough to see the film in 35mm several years ago. Oddly, it wasn't actually that impressive, visually - not that it didn't look great, but that aspect didn't knock me out, despite it being a pretty pristine print. Actually the vivid, somewhat underrated sound mix was more compelling, I think, like a lot of Polanski, it makes very effective use of textured and realistic ambient sound and these various ostensibly innocuous things (e.g. a car engine starting, a baby crying, the bustle of a city street, this whistling sound that recurs throughout in downtown scenes, etc) - with the end result being to somehow build a sense of dread out of them. For example, near the end when Gittes gets the cops off his tail by using Curly and his car as a getaway, I remember at the screening a really affecting bit of sound design. As I recall, we watch Gittes and Curly drive off out of frame in a fairly wide shot, which then holds on the empty yard for a beat longer than probably any average Hollywood film would. As they drive off and during the end of that shot, there's the unnerving sound of a baby crying loudly somewhere. Simple, and doesn't sound like much at all, but it's little details like those... somehow the fatalistic dread of the film is enhanced by unsettling aural touches like that. Similarly, those whistling sounds heard from the city streets below whenever we're in a downtown building help create an almost subliminally tense, on-edge feeling.